I'm moving to the Prague vineyards: Modřany have been a haven for Praguers for more than a century.
Modřany can be found almost on the very southwestern edge of Prague and boast a number of unique features. According to historical sources, the vineyards there are the oldest in Prague. In the past, the capital city was a renowned area for vineyards, which had to make way for later urbanization. However, wine is still cultivated in Modřany today.
In vineyards restored at the turn of the 80s and 90s, we find vines bearing the grapes of the Blue Portugal variety. Although this is a nomen omen in Modřany, the place is not named after the well-known red wine variety and is probably not connected to the color blue.
The name might originate from the cult of Morana, which is a kind of religious representation of death. The so-called carrying out of Morana is considered by some researchers to be the oldest known Czech custom, with mentions dating back to the 14th century.
However, Modřany are first mentioned in historical sources in a charter of the Přemyslid prince Soběslav from 1178. Long before that, the area was inhabited by Germans and Celts. The nearby terrain relics observable in the landscape on the hill Šance near Točná are the remains of the oldest Celtic oppidum in our country.
But back to the vineyards. It is in the mentioned charter that the vineyards of Modřany are also noted. Prague was a vineyard area long before the well-known wine endeavors led by Charles IV, after his return from France. Local names in vineyard areas typically recall this with the suffix -ovka, for example, Palmovka was a significant place with vineyards.
The oldest vineyards in Prague, located in Modřany, paradoxically continue to operate today. Although they were replaced by an orchard after the severe frosts of 1929, the Czech Gardening Association revived the wine-growing tradition, and in 1989, after an almost seventy-year hiatus, the first harvest was collected here. In addition to the mentioned Modrý Portugal, other well-known varieties such as Rhine Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Tramín Red, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir are grown here.
The local vineyards are truly unique. There is a historically significant vineyard house representing local folk architecture, in which the so-called Modřany treasure was discovered during its renovation in 2014. It contained over 760 Austrian, French, and Czechoslovakian gold and silver coins, as well as several pieces of jewelry.
Lovers of culturally protected architecture will find not only the Vineyard House here, but also the Baroque Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Modřany, the wayside shrine of Prussian soldiers killed near Modřany in 1757, or Komořany Castle.
Today, however, Modřany does not only live in the past and has its own pillars of community life. Recently, an unusual monument to the local cat Mikeš has been added to it.
"In a rushed era, Mikeš brought joy, smiles, and humanity. He was able to bring people together, and that's precisely what we wish his statue to achieve as well. I wish people would come to touch Mikeš for luck—just as they used to visit him for good cheer," stated Vojtěch Kos, the mayor of Prague 12, at the beginning of this year, when the statue of the local cat Mikeš was unveiled.
The feeling of happiness in Modřany is not only offered by the statue of the cat. This place is a popular tourist destination thanks to the Modřany Gorge, full of greenery, and also the Cholupice Hill with its forests. Until the early 20th century, the area was dominated by agricultural fields and meadows, which is why the local vegetation feels slightly exotic, as it is mainly dominated by non-native acacias.
"An escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city has been typical for Modřany for a good number of years. "In the nearby, charmingly situated Zátiší, a part of the Modřany district, a villa neighborhood recently emerged with neat and splendid buildings and restaurants. In the summer, this colony becomes lively and has become a pleasant refuge for the people of Prague with its refreshing walks in the greenery of the meadows," the local chronicle wrote about this refuge for Prague residents as early as 1899, although the mentioned forests were not yet available for tourism at that time.
While back then the preferred and most comfortable mode of transport from the center of Prague to Modřany was a steamboat sailing on the Vltava, today it is possible to use bus connections and also numerous tram lines, which use the rapid transit, off-road tram track extended as of 2023 all the way to Libuš.
